Magical-Menagerie

The Telegraph has posted a couple videos from Prince William, Duchess Catherine and Prince Harry’s visit to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.  Those may be watched below:

The Prince and Duchess learn how to fight with wands:

Part of Prince William’s speech:

WB Studio Tour has also released a video from the visit:

We’ve learned that J.K Rowling along with many of the Harry Potter cast and crew were also at the inauguration of the updated WB Studio Tour London with The Royal Family.  Additionally, Prince Harry’s Facebook page has been updated with numerous photos of the trio – not the Potter trio of course; Harry, William and Kate – touring the Harry Potter section. UPDATE: The Duchess’ Facebook also has an album with photos from the day.

The following members of the Potter family were in attendance: David Heyman, David Yates, Mike Newell and Matthew Lewis . We will have photos of them as soon as they become available.  For now view these (which will be updated as more appear online):

• Matthew Lewis – via his Twitter
• J.K. Rowling, David Yates, David Heyman and Mike Newell - via Mugglenet
• J.K. Rowling & Prince Harry – via WB Studio Tour Twitter

Prince William, Duchess Kate and Prince Harry visited Warner Bros. Studio Tour London today to open up the brand new facility housing props from other WB films.  At the inauguration, Prince William made a wonderful speech about the attraction which can be read in its entirety here.

All three of us have been looking forward to being here with you all today, and so far it’s lived up to our expectations.

To be honest, I’m over the moon just to have seen the real Batmobile and Batpod – Josh, Barry, you don’t do baby seats for those cars, do you, by any chance? On the other hand Harry’s just excited to see a real life talking owl in the Harry Potter studios. I haven’t told him yet that Harry Potter is fictional, so please keep the secret for a little longer.??

[...]

??The journey to today began most obviously with the now legendary story of an aspiring author – J K Rowling – translating her phenomenal imagination onto paper in the form of the Harry Potter series. But in another sense, the journey to today began way before, since this country has a long and proud literary and visual arts history – a history that is unmatched in the world for its variety, its commercial success and its longevity.??

[...]Our Nation’s extraordinary capacity for talent is not a thing of the past. It is worth reminding ourselves that the Harry Potter book series has become the most popular series ever to be printed, and the Harry Potter movie series – filmed right here – is the most successful in history. ??So, what of the future? How can we possibly continue these successes of the past?

[...]

Catherine, Harry and I are very much looking forward to the Harry Potter Studio Tour coming up shortly, and thank you to Warner Brothers for hosting hundreds of children from the charities of which we are fortunate enough to be Patron.

As we posted way back in December 2011, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be opening up at Universal Hollywood in Los Angeles. Today Variety is reporting that construction for the park will begin this Summer!  According to the article, “NBCUniversal was given the go ahead after the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the company’s plan to invest in production and tourism projects over the next 25 years, worth $1.6 billion overall.” They will apparently be spending $500 million to build this new park, starting later in the Summer.  The Gibson Amphitheater will be closing in September to make way for the new park.  More from the article may be read below:

Venture, a collaboration between Warner Bros. Entertainment and Universal Parks and Resorts, will essentially replicate the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that opened in 2010 at Universal’s Orlando resort, and is currently being expanded after it’s proved a huge success there.

“We thank Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, the entire Board of Supervisors, and County staff for providing us the path to bring much needed jobs and investment to Los Angeles,” said Corinne Verdery, chief real estate development and planning officer, NBCUniversal. “The working relationship we have built with the community was invaluable in developing our future plan and we are grateful to our nearly 7,500 supporters and union partners who have been with us every step of the way. We look forward to bringing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Hollywood, forever changing the face of tourism in Los Angeles.”

A full press release from NBC may be read here:

NBCUniversal plans to begin construction this summer on a $1.6 billion, 25-year expansion of its Los Angeles-area theme park, offices and production facilities.

The company owned by Comcast Corp. announced Tuesday that it would start building The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at its Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, along with upgraded TV production studios and office space on the studio lot.

The project would eventually include a hotel and retail outlets, adding nearly 2 million square feet to the studio complex. The plan initially called for nearly 3,000 residences, but that was dropped last year after objections from local residents and politicians.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved the plan Tuesday, unanimously directing its lawyers to prepare documents for final approval.

A new trailer for Emma Watson’s new film The Bling Ring has been released and may be watched below. The film, which is a true story, follows the exploits of a group of teens who use the Internet to track celebrities’ whereabouts in order to rob their homes. The Bling Ring will premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival and hits theaters for a limited release on June 14th.